At the end of the day, what I think you are really saying has very little to do with ideology, and everything to do with simply winning.

Careful.... Illiberalism is just as dangerous as populism.
Now you may not associate illiberal democracy with the neoliberal/progressive set, but it is there as well in spades. A culture of exclusion. "Those people don't know what's good for them, and they need to get with it.....we just need to educate them."

He explained: “I’ve now come to the conclusion that if we [the left] want to win political battles, we need to fight for the interpretation of what nationalism should look like, rather than running away from nationalism altogether.”

In a polarised era, Mounk’s proposals cannot help but appear blandly technocratic. But he insisted they represent the only viable alternative. “With a few exceptions in history, when we’ve seen fascism fight communism, or right populism fight left populism, it has virtually always been the right that’s won”.

Nationalism is absolutely not a solution to the problems of the working class. Especially not a fake nationalism promulgated by huge amounts of money.

So you think Mounk is a crank? Really?

He shares your exact sentiment about Hungary.....

He cares deeply about preserving liberal democracy. And if that means preserving people's (all people) desire to have pride of local or national or whatever pride, so be it. Not at the expense of other nations or peoples (like the neocons). But all people need a sense of shared pride in their lives. And not to some overarching incoherent corporation like Amazon or Apple or even EU. Something more personal and shared. This is just a fact of being a human. Not saying these large conglomerates shouldn't exist, but lets be careful in our worship of them.

I don't think he's a crank. I think he's got the wrong idea about what to do about populism. (Side note: I've been working on populism academically -- the idea of a "left-populism" is old hat. The idea of a "left-nationalism" is even older, and fucking scary.

I take the point that we need to work with the way people are seriously. That is what the nationalism-pushers are doing. But the desire for nationalism isn't intractable. It was created by nefarious forces. It can be combated.

I don't think he's a crank. I think he's got the wrong idea about what to do about populism. (Side note: I've been working on populism academically -- the idea of a "left-populism" is old hat. The idea of a "left-nationalism" is even older, and fucking scary.

Do you mean by idea of "left-nationalism" is scary, that it does not exist or is non-threatening, and never has been.....or we need to be wary of it?'

And "left-populism" is very close to Bernie's current campaign. You can't deny that.... Maybe he legislates like a Social Democrat, but his rhetoric is spot on left-populism:

The rhetoric of left-wing populism often consists of anti-elitist sentiments, opposition to the Establishment and speaking for the "common people".[1] The important themes for left-wing populists usually include anti-capitalism, social justice, pacifism and anti-globalization, whereas class society ideology or socialist theory is not as important as it is to traditional left-wing parties.[2] The criticism of capitalism and globalization is linked to anti-militarism, which has increased in the left populist movements as a result of unpopular United States military operations, especially those in the Middle East.[3] It is considered that the populist left does not exclude others horizontally and relies on egalitarian ideals.[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left-wing_populism

Now I agree with a lot of these points, but I don't see it having any fruitful future in a liberal democracy or US politics. It's tricky.
I could see Bernie getting the nod, and even the presidency if he went hard populist in this fashion. I am not saying that is good, or desirable. Just where people out there are at, like you acknowledge below.

I take the point that we need to work with the way people are seriously. That is what the nationalism-pushers are doing. But the desire for nationalism isn't intractable. It was created by nefarious forces. It can be combated.

(Side note: I've been working on populism academically -- the idea of a "left-populism" is old hat. The idea of a "left-nationalism" is even older, and fucking scary.

I take the point that we need to work with the way people are seriously. That is what the nationalism-pushers are doing. But the desire for nationalism isn't intractable. It was created by nefarious forces. It can be combated.

I assume with your research you are well aware of Chapo Trap House and associated podcasts from the Dirt Bag Left (their moniker )

If you care to, please expand on what you mean by "left-nationalism is fucking scary" and whether this potentially fits the bill. Or you see this as benign stuff, or simply benign populism.

The fact that Chapo is dropping (never had) "woke" stuff from their platform is really huge in my estimation. This will explode in popularity amongst millennials with the laser focus on Class.

The main draw of the show is their banter, the hosts distilling the news of the week and checking in on their favorite and least favorite characters. But they have had major guests, including Mr. Sanders himself.

“These people on top are so powerful that the only way we bring them down, the only way we make the kinds of transformation this country absolutely requires is when millions of people are prepared to stand up and fight back,” Mr. Sanders said during his interview.

And the Sanders campaign maintains a close relationship with the podcast. His senior adviser, David Sirota, and his national press secretary, Briahna Joy Gray, have also been on the podcast. At the Iowa show, a Sanders volunteer stood at the door with fliers and pins to hand out and an email list to gather names.

Their followers — on the night in Iowa City more than 700 strong — come to hear them rage for three hours against the student debt, the high rent, the dead-end creative class jobs, and the feeling of hopelessness fighting against a liberal political establishment that seems polite when they are angry.

I remember watching Trump on episode's of Geraldo back in the late 80's. One in particular was a bunch of women models and how the notoriety of dating him ruined their career.
Then in the early 90's I would listen to Howard Stern every morning at work and Trump would call in all the time and had that one classic on-air fight with A.J. Benza.

The United States launched airstrikes in Iraq late on Thursday, US officials said, targeting four locations of the Iranian-backed Shia militia members believed to be responsible for an earlier rocket attack that killed and wounded American and British troops at a base north of Baghdad.

"The United States conducted defensive precision strikes against Kataib Hezbollah facilities across Iraq," a Pentagon statement said.

"These weapons storage facilities include facilities that housed weapons used to target U.S. and coalition troops," it said.

The strikes were "defensive, proportional and in direct response to the threat posed by Iranian-backed Shia militia groups," the statement added.

Kataib Hezbollah was one of the Iraqi militia groups that helped defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS).

In a statement, US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said that the US will not tolerate attack against "our people, our interests, our allies."

One US official told the Associated Press news agency earlier that the strikes were a joint operation with the British. The officials spoke to AP on condition of anonymity because operations were still ongoing.

AFP new agency reported similar lines, quoting an unnamed military source, who said "the operation is under way".

A defence official also told Reuters news agency that the strikes were carried out by manned US aircraft.

Earlier on Thursday, US President Donald Trump gave the Pentagon the authority to respond after a rocket barrage killed two US troops and a British soldier, again raising tensions with Iran after the two countries came to the brink of war earlier this year.

An official told Reuters news agency that the US response would be proportional to that of Wednesday's rocket attack, which also injured at least 14 people

Beijing pulls credentials for journalists at three U.S. news outlets, including The Post

Emily Rauhala
March 17, 2020 at 1:29 p.m. EDT

Chinese authorities announced Tuesday that journalists from three major U.S. news organizations, including The Washington Post, will be effectively expelled from the country as part of relatiation to Trump administration limits on U.S.-based Chinese media.

The measures announced by China’s Foreign Ministry hit The Post, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. The three organizations will also join Voice of America and Time magazine to be labeled by China as “foreign missions” and must report information about their staff, finance, operation and real estate in China.

“We unequivocally condemn any action by China to expel U.S. reporters,” said Martin Baron, executive editor of The Post. “The Chinese government’s decision is particularly regrettable because it comes in the midst of an unprecedented global crisis, when clear and reliable information about the international response to covid-19 is essential. Severely limiting the flow of that information, which China now seeks to do, only aggravates the situation.”

The move came after the United States took measures against Chinese Communist Party-controlled news outlets operating in the United States. Later, China expelled three Wall Street Journal reporters.

“China demands that journalists of U.S. citizenship working with the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post whose press credentials are due to expire before the end of 2020 notify the Department of Information of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs within four calendar days starting from today and hand back their press cards within ten calendar days,” the statement said.

It went on to specify that they will also be blocked from working in the Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions.